Tips
 

Reuse squirt type juice bottles as water bottles for the kids.
Print each child's name on them with permanent marker fill with water and store in the fridge, kids can grab them when ever they need a drink.

Save yogurt cups to use as paint cups, glue cups, or for dip, cheese, or peanut butter for dipping snacks in.

Keep large zip lock bags on hand for take home projects like play dough, home made puzzles, and games.  Use them to store pieces to puzzles and games.

Use old T-shirts to slip over a child's nice clothes when they're painting, cooking, playing at the water table, or doing any messy activities, to keep them clean and dry.

Save egg cartons, toilet tubes, paper towel rolls, the ends from frozen juice containers, film canisters, and any other odds in ends that have potential for all kinds of craft projects.  Also "real" (empty) food containers are great for the housekeeping corner.

No room to save all this stuff?  A couple weeks before you need them ask parents to collect and bring in items such as egg cartons, so you don't have to store them all over your house forever!

Need some cheap containers for small toys like Lego's and other various things... Check with local restaurants for plastic containers!  A lot of the food they order comes in nice big plastic containers and they just throw them out!  I have collected many big red buckets from Dominos- their mushrooms came in!

Caring for infants?- Use a small spiral notebook to share info about babies day with mom and dad, at the end of each day you can write in it things like what baby eats, naps, diapers, cute things baby did, etc. Keep it in the baby bag and parents can write comments in it to you too.

Have a messy high chair or booster seat that needs a good cleaning? Place it in the shower, turn it on hot, and leave it in there for a few minutes! Comes out super clean!
 

Purchasing toys at garage sales can be cheap - obviously. But cleaning those used toys can be tedious. The best way to clean & disinfect used toys is in the dishwasher. The detergent contains bleaches and the power of the water spray scrubs out every nook and cranny. Just be sure that small pieces (i.e. Lego, people, animals) are put into the silverware basket or otherwise secured so they don't jam up the works!! Be aware that stickers will come off, metal may rust and wood will warp or swell - obviously be selective about what you wash this way. Plastic items work the best. I'd recommend you remove them before the dry cycle or use "no heat dry" to avoid warping plastic. Even large items like the FP Little People Farm come out very well. -Submitted by the Wolst Family

Here's a tip we thought was just super!
For inexpensive bulletin boards - mount ceiling tiles on walls at varying levels! -cover them with colorful plastic table cloths that can be found at dollar stores or party outlets! -Submitted by Chris Simmons/Just Kid'N Child Development Centers/Jessup, MD
 

On outings with children bring a stack of cut up drawer liners....they make great placemats when the tables aren't as clean as you'd like or you need to put food out. Very inexpensive also. - From Teri
 

Bulletin Board Idea:
Kate found a great way of letting parents know something great about their child each day...
I call it an award a day. I have hung a bulletin board in the area where parents do drop off and pick up. I change the board each month with whatever seasonal/themes we are doing that month. Each child has a pocket with their name on it, like a library book pocket. I cut strips of construction paper and place a sticker on the top. I date the award and then during nap time write one great thing each child did that day. The parents have loved hearing about their child because in most cases the children can not relate to their parents verbally how much fun they had that day. Many parents have said they are saving them for their children's baby albums.
-Kate Braun
 

Have any TIPS to share? 2care4kids.com@tds.net and I will post them here.  Be sure to give your name so I can give you credit!